The Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles will begin issuing driver licenses, instruction permits and identification cards with new designs this year. The card design includes an entirely new format and enhanced features, including laser-engraved information in grayscale, as well as new card material.

Valid driver licenses, instruction permits and identification cards with the current design can be used until their expiration date. The current design will continue to be issued at all other offices. The fee for a document will not change as a result of this new design.

The image of the mountain on the front of the card is Mount Sneffels. Located in the San Juan Mountain Range west of Ouray and north of Telluride, this peak climbs to 14,158 feet making it the 27th tallest mountain in the state. The background on the back side of the card contains an image of the State Capital building.

All of the information on the card is laser-engraved and the primary photo will be gray-scaled. The laser engraving feature enhances the security and safety of the document. Individual’s photograph is black and white and all of the information on the license is laser engraved.

Temporary documents received in the office will look different, with individuals receiving a foldable temporary card.

The star at the top right of the card indicates that your document is a REAL ID. This allows you to use it to enter federal buildings and for air travel.

New cards will continue to support organ and tissue donation and have military or veteran identifiers. The new card will continue to support individuals who choose to be organ and tissue donors. The heart indicator on their license will be gray-scaled with a “Y” in the middle.

Documents issued under the Colorado Road and Community Safety Act (CO-RCSA) will still contain a black box that states “Not Valid For Federal Identification, Voting or Public Benefit Purposes”.

The new card will continue to support qualified military veterans who choose to have the military identifier or ‘Veteran’ placed on their card. The new military identifier and ‘Veteran’ will be laser engraved on the card in black.

Closing dates for southeast Colorado while DMV offices make the change over are:
La Junta April 11th, Lamar and Eads on April 12th and Springfield on April 13th. Those offices will be open for business the day following their closing.